Jay Shetty PodcastNAOMI OSAKA REVEALS the Message Serena Williams Sent Her After their US Open Final Match!
CHAPTERS
Naomi’s mental health disclosure: pride, embarrassment, and what it changed
Naomi reflects on sharing her mental health struggles publicly, admitting she feels some embarrassment about her wording and timing, but also pride that it opened doors for broader conversations. Jay frames her vulnerability as a moment that humanized athletes and gave others permission to speak up.
- •Looking back on the mental health announcement three years later
- •Why Naomi feels she could’ve communicated it differently
- •Impact on athletes being seen as human, not “stone cold” performers
- •Emotional decision-making under pressure
Impulsiveness vs. strategy: how her personality shows up on-court and off
Naomi describes herself as highly impulsive—quick to act and drawn to spontaneity—while also operating in a sport that demands planning and precision. She explains how she balances creativity (flashy, entertaining shots) with disciplined patterns learned through years of play.
- •Childhood roots of impulsiveness (family stories)
- •When impulsiveness helps: creativity and entertainment in play
- •When it hurts: public moments people ‘know about’
- •Learning a personal tennis “blueprint” over time
- •Being a ‘half-and-half’ player: creative and tactical
Moving from Japan to the U.S.: language loss, identity, and cultural intimacy
Naomi recalls moving from Japan to America as a toddler and the cultural adjustments that followed—especially a teacher urging her mother to stop speaking Japanese at home. She shares how language preserves closeness and meaning, and why losing fluency still frustrates her.
- •Early memories of Japan and the transition to the U.S.
- •Teacher pressure to prioritize English and its long-term impact
- •Why bilingualism matters for identity and expression
- •The ‘untranslatable’ emotional nuance of speaking Japanese
- •Cultural preservation through language and family intimacy
Her father’s “blueprint” and the family’s all-in training life
Naomi details the intense family commitment that shaped her career: eight-hour training days with her sister and dad, creating a sense that success was almost inevitable. She describes her father as stoic, the family dream as shared, and “King Richard” as strangely familiar.
- •Eight-hour daily training routine as a child
- •Belief that it would be ‘weird’ not to make it
- •Family closeness and sacrifice (New York to Florida move)
- •Watching “King Richard” and recognizing parallels
- •Father’s personality: stoic, joke-cracking, mission-driven
Living two cultures: Haitian generosity and Japanese promptness
Naomi explains how Haitian and Japanese cultural values show up in her mindset and habits. She highlights Haitian hospitality—giving even with little—and Japanese punctuality and structure as a grounding counterbalance to her impulsive side.
- •Haitian ‘giving with nothing to give’ as a core influence
- •Hospitality and warmth when visiting Haiti
- •Japanese punctuality and being ‘on task’
- •How these traits shape her personality and leadership
- •Yin-yang of discipline and spontaneity
Discipline, diet, and guilty pleasures: rice, racing, and growing safer with motherhood
Naomi shares what discipline looks like right now—cutting out rice despite it being central to her cultures—then contrasts it with her impulsive nighttime drives and occasional street races. She notes how becoming a mother shifted her risk tolerance and safety mindset.
- •Cutting out rice as a major discipline challenge
- •Building a healthier relationship with cravings and routine
- •Night driving and racing as a ‘guilty pleasure’ outlet
- •How motherhood changes her relationship to danger
- •Seeking freedom and anonymity (tinted windows, late-night drives)
Filling time when life is hyper-structured: gaming, manga, and ‘fake shopping’ carts
Reflecting on earlier career phases, Naomi describes a life so repetitive she could predict it by the minute. Her impulses found outlets online—video games, manga, and filling shopping carts without buying—mirroring window shopping and the comfort of ‘options.’
- •Rigid pre–first Slam routine and predictable days
- •Being ‘chronically online’ as a pressure valve
- •Video games and manga as recovery and escapism
- •Filling online carts without purchasing (the psychology of possibility)
- •How her outlets changed as her time shrank
Winning her first Grand Slam vs. public backlash: the emotional whiplash of the US Open final
Naomi recounts the surreal mix of achieving a childhood dream—playing Serena in a Slam final—while facing controversy and claims she didn’t deserve the win. She remembers reading hateful comments alone after the match, and how it took years to begin processing it.
- •Dream fulfilled: facing Serena in a first Slam final
- •‘Not a clean victory’ narratives and constant proving
- •Post-match loneliness: late-night hotel return and comment-reading
- •Why media training couldn’t prepare her for global scrutiny
- •Relief and reset through winning the Australian Open afterward
Serena Williams as hero and peer: the message, the awe, and the full-circle moment
Naomi shares that Serena sent her a kind message after the final, which left her starstruck—so much so she muted the conversation after replying. She recalls writing a childhood report about Serena, and later being asked by Serena to take a photo with Serena’s daughter.
- •Serena’s supportive message after the US Open final
- •Naomi’s starstruck reaction and ‘mute’ coping move
- •Third-grade report: Serena as role model and ‘greatest’
- •Playing Serena again and sharing spaces during COVID restrictions
- •Full-circle honor: taking a photo with Serena’s daughter
Motherhood and identity: separating self-worth from wins and losses
Naomi explains how becoming a mother reshaped her inner world: more patience, more perspective, and less attachment to match outcomes as a measure of her value. She describes gradually ‘clicking’ into a broader identity through lived experiences and supportive relationships.
- •Shift from tennis-as-identity to life-as-multifaceted
- •Reduced catastrophizing after losses
- •How her daughter’s joy re-centers her daily meaning
- •Support systems reinforcing worth beyond results
- •Identity change as a series of small realizations over time
Journaling, writing, and learning to love her life as it is
Naomi describes journaling as a daily tool that helped her express thoughts more clearly than speaking, despite early struggles with grammar and writing in school. She shares she’s working on a book-like project and chooses to post snippets when she feels they may help others.
- •Why she writes: clarity, control of expression, reflection
- •Daily journaling: gratitude, lessons, emotional processing
- •A ‘book’ in progress—ramblings that become meaning
- •Deciding what to share publicly based on helpfulness
- •Childhood comparison and maturing into gratitude for her life
Comparison, competitiveness, and ‘stop chasing your old self’
Naomi unpacks how performance culture fuels constant comparison—titles, wins, rankings—and how that mindset spilled into her personal self-evaluation. She shares a key insight from returning post-motherhood: chasing her former version was limiting, and excitement now comes from growth and learning.
- •Comparison as an athlete: measuring self by metrics
- •Making peace with recurring ‘behind’ thoughts
- •Competitiveness vs. contentment tension
- •Rejecting the ‘old self’ chase after returning to tour
- •New vision: learning, meeting people, evolving as a person
Returning after giving birth: training fast, internet opinions, and setting boundaries with media
Naomi details her pregnancy experience, weight gain from sickness, training nearly up to birth, and resuming training within 7–10 days postpartum—sparking online criticism. She also explains why press conferences became harder as fame grew and questions felt less human and more extractive.
- •Pregnancy challenges: constant sickness and coping through eating
- •Training during pregnancy and rapid postpartum return
- •Online backlash vs. personal bodily readiness
- •Press conferences from age 16: scale changed with fame
- •Feeling dehumanized by ‘one-liner’ and headline-driven questions
Meditation and calm: rain sounds, ocean noise, and welcoming thoughts
Naomi shares that meditation began before her first US Open win, rooted in noticing how rainy days brought peace. She uses water sounds and brainwave audio nightly, focusing not on forcing thoughts away but understanding why they’re arriving in volume.
- •Self-discovered meditation through love of rain and water
- •Pre-match stress management with rain sounds
- •Nightly practice with an app and brainwave audio
- •Approach to thoughts: welcome, observe, investigate origins
- •Water as an emotional regulator and grounding tool
Breaks, shame, and support: French Open withdrawal, Olympics validation, and not feeling alone
Naomi explains the French Open period as driven by shame, isolation, and feeling she’d violated the ‘athlete’ code of hiding cracks. After retreating at home, the Olympics became a turning point when fellow athletes—especially women—thanked her, replacing loneliness with solidarity.
- •Core emotions: shame, embarrassment, loneliness
- •Isolation after withdrawing: staying inside, avoiding the outside world
- •Media pressure before competition and the breaking point around press
- •Olympics as a reset: athletes expressing gratitude and support
- •From ‘I’m alone’ to ‘I’m not alone’ as a healing shift
Mentors, friendships, and legacy: Kobe’s advice, giving forward, and ‘you’re never alone’
Naomi discusses how she maintains connection through her traveling team and close family ties, while also valuing mentorship—especially Kobe Bryant, who taught her to treat opinions like flies and stay focused like a lion. She emphasizes generosity, helping the next generation, and offers a message to listeners struggling with mental health: ask for help; you’re not alone.
- •Friendship in a solo sport: team as daily support network
- •Kobe Bryant mentorship and the ‘lion vs. flies’ metaphor
- •Desire to mentor others and share lessons forward
- •Haitian-inspired giving and building a better world for kids
- •Advice to those struggling: you’re never alone; seek support
